Principal Study Chamber Music 1
The role of the Principal Study lessons will be to develop a range of individual and group skills that will enable you to function effectively as a musical collaborator within the context of a chamber music ensemble. Central to your learning will be a developing ability to work with others to explore musical problems, and find aesthetically and technically satisfying solutions.
Your learning will take place through a combination of ensemble coaching and individual tuition. The proportion of these elements will be negotiated appropriately for both the individual and the group as a whole, adding up to a total equivalent to 27 x 1.5 hr lessons per group member. (For example: a string quartet might negotiate four hours of group tuition per week plus half an hour each of individual tuition for each member; a piano trio might agree three hours of coaching plus a half hour each of individual lessons, or four and a half hours of coaching and no individual lessons.)
The Assessment Specifications associated with this module outline a number of different options from which to choose, according to your department and specialism, giving you the opportunity to demonstrate the learning outcomes of the module across a range of contexts and repertoires.
Module aims
This module is designed to:
- Foster technical and expressive mastery in chamber music
- Develop a mature musical personality and provide opportunities for its projection in-and-through practice
- Develop a knowledge base that supports understanding and facilitates the solving of complex musical problems
- Enable students to acquire the skills to pursue and sustain fulfilling, lifelong learning leading to informed performance at a professional level
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module you will be able to:
- LO1 Demonstrate technical and expressive mastery in chamber music
- LO2 Project a mature musical personality in-and-through chamber music
- LO3 Employ a range of knowledge and understanding in-and-through the process of making music
Assessment
Assessment 1: Performance B (50% or 25% + 25%)
Assessed LOs: 1, 2, 3.
Assessment 2: Performance A (50%)
Assessed LOs: 1, 2, 3.
The Assessment Specifications associated with this module outline a number of different options from which to choose, according to your department and specialism, giving you the opportunity to demonstrate the learning outcomes of the module across a range of contexts and repertoires.
Assessment criteria
Assessors will look for:
LO1 – Demonstrate technical and expressive mastery in chamber music
- perceptive listening
- agility/fluency
- range and quality of production/projection of sound/tone/timbre
- exploitation of the capabilities of the instrument
- melodic shaping, line and texture
- dynamic range and shaping
- rhythmic structure and control
- intonation
- accuracy, technical and textual
- in vocal performance: pronunciation, accent, languages
LO2 – Project a mature musical personality in-and-through chamber music
- committed, communicative and engaging response to the music
- performances which can challenge both the artist and audience
- creativity in performance
- confident leading and sympathetic support within ensemble partnerships
- stage presence
- musicality in relation to technique (technical freedom and mastery to realise musical intent)
in Collaboration on Creation of New Work
- critical understanding of the collaborative process
- creative and effective collaboration with the composer
LO3 – Employ a range of knowledge and understanding in-and-through the process of making music
- artistic vision
- imagination
- interpretative decisions
- articulation of structure and form
- understanding of genre, style and idiom
- knowledge of the repertoire
- informed programme choices
- appropriate structure and order of programme
- contribution to audience experience
Feedback
You will recieve regular formative feedback from your tutor in your lessons, and a written report twice a year. In some departments the tutor report will take the form of a mutually constructed feedback session.
You will receive a written feedback report on each A and B assessment.
Resources
Essential
Key resources will be recommended by principal study tutors.
Recommended
Rink, J. S., Gaunt, H., & Williamon, A. (Eds.). (2017). Musicians in the making: Pathways to creative performance (Vol. 1). Oxford University Press.
Tolmie, D. (2020) 2050 And beyond: A futurist perspective on musicians’ livelihoods, Music Education Research, 22:5, 596-610, DOI: 10.1080/14613808.2020.1841133
Welch, G., & Papageorgi, I. (Eds.). (2014). Advanced musical performance: Investigations in higher education learning. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Summary details
| Module title | Principal Study Chamber Music 1 |
|---|---|
| SCQF level | 11 |
| Credit rating | 80 SCQF (40 ECTS) |
| Total notional student effort hours | 800 |
| Status | Core |
| Module coordinator | Head of Department |
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Co-requisites | Supporting Studies 1 |
| Anti-requisites | None |
| Next steps | Principal Study Chamber Music 2 or MA Negotiated Study |
| Learning modes | Indicative hours |
| Scheduled study | 30 (minimum) |
| Independent study | 770 (maximum) |
| Total notional student effort | 800 |